Published 12:04 IST, December 4th 2020
Joe Biden asks infectious disease expert Fauci to join his COVID team 'in exact same role'
US President-elect Joe Biden on Dec 3 said that he has asked the government’s top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci to join his COVID-19 response team.
US President-elect Joe Biden on December 3 said that he has asked the government’s top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci to join his COVID-19 response team as he takes office in January. Speaking at an interview with CNN, the top Democrat reckoned that he has asked Fauci to stay in the “exact same role” that he has had for the “past several presidents” and continue his role as “chief medical advisor”.
Dr Fauci, who has openly slammed Donald Trump for downplaying the coronavirus, has served as a medical advisor to six American Presidents in past. He is currently serving on Donald Trump’s COVID-19 task force and also as director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases. Owing to his blatant criticism, Trump has said that he would fire Fauci if reelected.
Fauci meets Biden's team
Later, Fauci revealed that he had an hour-long meeting with Biden’s agency review team at the White House. According to CNN, members who met with Fauci included Jeffrey Zients as well as two co-chairs of Biden's 12-member coronavirus advisory board, Dr. David Kessler, the former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, and former US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy.
'Mandate masks for 100 days'
In addendum, to appointing Dr Fauci, Biden also revealed that he was going to mandate the use of a mask for the first 100 days since he takes office. His move to reduce transmission of coronavirus comes as the virus has surged to infect 14,139, 040 and kill 276,235 people across the American territory.
Last week, Dr Fauci has stressed that US should prepare for a “surge upon a surge” in COVID-19 cases as millions of people are now returning home from the Thanksgiving holiday, head of coronavirus task force Speaking at an interview with CNN, Dr Fauci reckoned that he was sure that the country was going to see an uptick in coronavirus cases “because of what has happened with the travel.” According to a Washington Post report, the day before Thanksgiving was the busiest air travel day since the pandemic hit with a record 1,070,967 passengers checking in at the airports.
Updated 12:03 IST, December 4th 2020